Inflatable swimming support



Sept. 19, 1939. w. BARCROFT INFLATABLE SWIMMING SUPPORT 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 12, 1958 W] Tnerrer.

Inveu for.

Filed March 12, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Sept. 19, 1939. w. BARCROFT INFLATABLE SWIMMING SUPPORT Filed March 12, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Sept. 19, 1939 UNITED STATES ATENT FFEQE Application March 12, 1938, Serial No. 195,590 In Great Britain November 9, 1936 Claims.

This invention relates to air inflatable swimming supports and swimming appliances and has for its object to provide all the advantages arising from the use of a support for the body in the 5- water during the practising of swimming strokes without any of the disadvantages which are usually experienced on a discontinuance of the use of artificial supports. According to the invention inflatable swimming supports for self use are so constructed or adapted that it is possible by means of the use of a slow or gradual or partial or otherwise regulated air-escapement or air-expulsion system or systems to bring about gradual and graduated lowerings of their state of buoyancy during their use in swimming practice; and so that each gradual lowering or deflation must at least reduce the buoyancy of the swimming support below that which is necessary for its wearer to obtain a. swimming position in the water merely by these artificial means; and so that by a loss of artificial support in a regulated defiation so gradual that its rate of loss or its amount is not immediately per.- ceptible, it is possible for a wearer of a swimming support to attempt to maintain, in some natural degree, a continuity of his swimming strokes; and so that by gradual and re ulated losses in buoyancy in a series or cycle of progressive or increasing defiations, it is possible for a wearer,

by maintaining the continuity of swimming strokes during and after each deflation, to retain in some degree, a swimming position in the water which, at the outset of a series or cycle of defiations was obtained only and entirely by artificial means; and so that the use of a swimming support may be extended beyond a means for enabling an execution of arm and leg strokes of .swimming when the body is suspended in a swimming position in the water, to a means for go the obtaining or discovering or developing of a natural swimming posture or balance in the water and of thereby facilitating swimming without the use of any form of artificial support;

and so that an air escapement or air expulsion as system may be set before use to provide for a required diminution in buoyancy of a swimming support by and after deflation, and for said deflation to take place during or mainly during "the actual attempted execution of swimming strokes in swimming practice. And according to the invention a swimming appliance is constructed so that its state of buoyancy may be changed by a swimming instructor by increasing or decreasing its air content-while it is being 55 worn at any time or almost at any time during a practising of swimming strokes under his di-. rection and without directly impeding swimming or attempted swimming strokes made by its wearer. A particular object is that a reduction of artificial support in deflation, however slight, 5 is at least made good by a degree of natural support derived from a continuance of swimming strokes executed in a reasonably good sequence orrhythm (and this continuance of execution of swimming strokes by the wearer is facilitated 10 by their commencement when the artificial sup port is enough in itself to suspend wearers body in a swimming position in the water); and so' that any slight reduction of artificial support is supplemented by natural support from swimming 15 strokes and a progressive increasing of the former is made good by a correspondingincreasing of the latter until, in an almost entire elimination of the former in a gradual change of buoyancy by deflation during an unbroken sequence 20 of swimming strokes, a discovery or development of the natural swimming balance or poise is further extended and progress towards swimming naturally is thus demonstrable. But in the case of a swimming support for self use or that of a 25 swimming appliance for theuse of a swimming instructor, there is, in these improved apparatus, means of facilitating or obtaining new swimming strokes by those who can already swim in some way; and for this purpose, the ordinary 30 methods intended for the non-swimmer to acquire any kind of swimming stroke may be ,advantageously used.

My invention is illustrated in the three sheets of explanatorydrawings hereto appended, where- 1n:

Fig. l is a plan of a swimming support showing separate inflatable compartments, and positions of air outlet passages or air outlets.

Fig. 2 is-a side elevation of said swimming {10 support. a

Fig. 3 is a plan of a swimming support showing separate inflatable compartments, and separate inflatable units.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of said swimming support and units. r r

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a swimming ap pliance showing method-of attaching to wearer in swimming position in water; and the position of a tubular contrivance which is held by a swimming instructor, and :in the extremity of which are fixed the air controls.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a buoyant and wearable part of said swimming appliance.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view of said buoyant or wearable part.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of said controls in tubular contrivances extremity, showing deflating device and air-infiator or pump.

Fig. 9 is a detailed perspective view of said deflating device.

Fig. 10 is a cross section through the outlet valve of a short tubular attachment to a swimming appliance.

Similar numerals of reference are employed to indicate corresponding parts in all of the several views.

The present invention is the embodiment of a constructional principle in a swimming support for self use and consists of means which provide a partial deflection by regulated and measured air escapement or air expulsion to obtain a progressive supplementing of natural support for artificial during swimming practice by producing or effecting changes in buoyancy of said swimming support as is described above and below; and the present invention is the embodiment of a new constructional principle in a swimming appliance for the use of a swimming instructor, and consists of means to provide a regulation of the volume of air in its inflatable parts by an increasing or decreasing of its air content at the precise moment of its requirement to enable a wearer to achieve a continuity of swimming strokes during swimming practice as is described herein, and thus discover a natural swimming balance.

Preferred embodiments of the invention as it is applied to swimming supports for self use are, with particular reference to sheet 1 of the drawings, as follow.

The reference numeral I, Figures 1 to 4, designates an air outlet passage (which is a small hole in or through a short-stemmed nipple-like projection of rubber or metal, the sides of which, may be re-inforced to give rigidity or precision) or air outlet (which is a small hole in an outer wall of an air compartment, which is re-inforced to form an encompassing rim, on to which a means of closure for the hole may be fitted), having a cap or means of covering and closure 2 of rubber or metal attached to it or to some near part of a receptacles outer wall by thread, wire, chain or link 3. Fastened or fitted below each air outlet passage or air outlet at 4 is a piece of balloon or aeroplane fabric or other finely woven textile or other fibres 5 thereat suspended from the internal wall of an air compartment. This fabric or piece of material is completely covered with a layer of very thin rubber, and fabric or material and rubber are impregnated or pierced by a small hole or holes for the slow passage of air therethrough according to a rate of air flow which is determined by or dependent'upon: r

(a) The number of inflatable compartments of a receptacle, or the number of its inflatable units.

(b) The number of air outlet passages or air outlets fixed to an inflatable compartment or all the inflatable compartments of a receptacle, or to an inflatable unit or units.

(0) The shape or kind of swimming support and effect of pressures according to varying bodily movements.

Alternatively, a thin piece of rubber could be fastened only at its extremities to a piece of fabric or material, after impregnation of rub ber to allow of a slow passing of air through it,

prow'ding it were fixed so that air would have to pass therethrough before it could escape from the air compartment by way of unclosed air outlet passage or air outlet. But any suspension of material and rubber is fixed so that it could not be temporarily displaced by being forced or pressed against the inner wall of an air compartment of a receptacle at the time of inflation and, left in this position, thus cease to function during a subsequent process of deflation as a means of partly regulating a flow of air from an air compartment of a receptacle, or

so that it could not fall into folds with a like result; and is not so taut or so fixed as to be incapable of expansionto some extent and thus fail to conform with distortions which may be caused by repeated inflation and deflation of an air compartment. An air inlet mouth-piece 6 is fitted to each inflatable compartment or inflatable unit, but there may be alternative or additional means of inflation by inlet valve 1. Inflatable compartment 8 has six air outlet passages or air outlets, and is joined to inflatable compartments 9 and I0 (thus forming a wearable receptacle for use as a swimming support) which have each four. The hooks or eyelets H are for straps or bands for securing a receptacle to a wearers body so as to prevent undesirable movement. In actual operation, the inflatable compartments 8, 9 and I0 would be filled or partly filled with air by an air inflator or from the lungs on the first use of a receptacle as a swimming support or, in subsequent uses, at the beginning of each process or act of deflation; and, consistent with the stages of advancement in the mastery of the technique and performance of swimming strokes in regular sequence or rhythm, there would, by pre-determination and pre-adjustment, be less and less air in the receptacle at the end of each deflation. At first, the deflation would be very gradual and in only one of the inflatable compartments (providing the air pumped or blown into the others was not enough in itself to support the weight of the body of the wearer), but as experience were gained its rate of outflow of air could be increased by the uncovering of more outlet passages or air outlets, and then extended to other inflatable compartments or units. A receptacle may be so made that, when fully inflated, each one of its separate inflatable compartments is sufiiciently buoyant to suspend a wearers body in a swimming position in the water, in which case, after some practising of swimming strokes with a full support for the body, a cycle of deflation in the case of a receptacle constructed as in Figures 1 and 2, may be as follows. Compartments 8 and 9 would be filled with air, but compartment I0 not quite filled, and compartments 8 and 9 would then be deflated; in the second, or next progressive, deflation compartments 8 and 9 could be rather less than fully filled with air, or again filled, but a little less air than before forced into compartment l0 and compartments 8 and 9 again deflated; and so on according to the particular combination of circumstances in a particular casefor the fixture of the amounts of retentive air in compartment I8 is determined (as it would be in the case of any non-gradually deflated compartment) only by the amount of artificial support which can be so displaced or supplemented by a wearers swimming strokes when being made in regular sequence; and that is itself demonstrable by a wearer's degree of ability or inability to continue his making of swimming strokes during and after a lowering of the buoyancy of an improved swimming support by a gradual deflation in some part of it. The inflatable compartments l2 and I3, in Figures 3 and 4, are joined together, but each has alternative or additional means of inflation by air inlet or inlet valve; and compartment 2 has six air outlet passages or air outlets and compartment l3 has eight. The detachable inflatable units 4, [4 have alternative or additional means of inflation too, and each has three air outlet passages or air outlets; and the units are fastened by canvas straps IE to the main wearable receptacle and to each other by press studs or buttons l6. An advantage of detachable inflatable units of the kind indicated by reference l4, M, in Figures 3 and 4, is mainly in their use in the advanced stages of a series or cycle or deflations for,-while maintaining the same rate of flow of air in their gradual deflation, the time occupied by the deflation itself may be conveniently shortened or lengthened by an attaching, to the main wearable support, of units of smaller or bigger sizes; but in the use of detachable units there is, in any process of deflation of the swimming support as a whole, a better distribution of buoyancy by reason of the physical position of remain- 7 ing inflated parts after a deflation of others in relation to that of a wearer of a swimming support.

Preferred embodiments of the invention as applied to swimming appliances for the use of a swimming instructor are, with particular reference to sheets 2 and 3 of the drawings, as follows.

The reference numeral ET, Figures 6 and 7, designates the lower part of a wearable recep tacle, which is inflatable and operatively deflatable. The lower part is joined or fastened to the upper part l8 which may also be inflatable but not operatively deflatable. If inflatable there would be an inlet valve at is, if not inflatable, said part would be made of soft rubber. But in either case the upper part |8 would be strengthened to provide some degree of conformity with given shape when changes in buoyancy were being made during use of the receptacle as a swimming appliance; and a strengthening or re-inforcing of the lower part ll of a wearable receptacle is indicated at the dotted line 26 for similar reasons. The long tubular contrivance or air pipe 2| is a means of inflation and deflation of lower part I! of wearable receptacle and is shown, in Figures 6 and '7, as being screwed into a flanged connection 22 in a raised section 23 of one end of the lower part of a wearable receptacle IT. A flanged connection 22 is built in both ends of a receptacle, and at the end not then required for receiving the contrivance 25 a cap 24 is screwed on to the connection 22 to close its air passage. Internal extension or pipe 25 leading to the connection for the contrivance 2| is to facilitate air control. The short tubular attachment 26, shown in Figures 6 and 7, as being screwed into flanged connection 21 of the lower part of wearable receptacle I1 is a secondary or additional means of deflation thereof, and, like the contrivance, is attachable at either end of a receptacle. The cap or means of closure for the air passage of the connection 2'! not being used for the attachment 26 is indicated by reference numeral 28. Short tubular attachments outlet valve 29, has a lead or control extension 3!! therefrom for use of a swimming instructor; but at the other end of attachment 2'6 and within flanged connection 21 is a detachable device consisting of a metallic ring with a filling or covering of its internal space of finely woven material, fitted into a socket 3|, for checking an outward rush of air from the receptacle on an opening of outlet valve 29. Internal extension or pipe 32 leadv ing from connection 21 for attachment 26 is a means of facilitating a better control of the air content during deflation. And straps and rubber bands 33 with their means of connection 34 with a wearable receptacle are for ensuring security by lessening risk of movement when receptacle is being worn in swimming practice. The rings or loops 35 of which there are two on each of two sides of the receptacle l1 and two on each of the bottoms opposite sides, are for a guide rope or wire 36 held by a swimming instructor, and which has a weighted part 37. The extremity of the contrivance 2| which is held by a swimming instructor is shown in detail in Figure 8, and the part 38, into which an inlet valve 39 is fixed, is fitted with an air outlet device 40; and fitted to the bottom of part 38 is loop or handle grip M by which the contrivance 2| is held. The button-like projection 42 on each side of part 38 is intended to serve as a support for the guide rope or wire 36 and the attachments valve con trol extension 36. Means of inflation is shown by air pump or inflator "i3 screwed on to inlet non-return valve 39. The contrivances air outlet device ii! is shown in detail in Figure 9, wherein its sliding part 44, which has a lip 45 by which it is held, is operated by a swimming instructor and moves along a grooved part of the inner framework 46 of the air outlet device, being restrained by springs 61 to the immovable top 48 of one end of the upper or outer framework, and, on being manually slid from that end, uncovers the sunken air outlet 53 and allows the escape of air from the lower part of the wearable receptacle ii. In Figure 10, the outlet valve 29 of attachment 25 is shown in detail. Its plug or moving part slides along sleeve 5| until its external extremity 52 is held by the rim of a narrower or central aperture 56 is, at the other extremity,

outside the sleeves casing 55; and thus by the swimming instructors movement of control 30 attached to the ring 56 of the valves plug or moving part 50, the air is allowed to flow from the receptacle l'i, through the short tubular attachment 26, into the valve 29 and the empty space of the valves sleeve at its widest part 51, and through the bore of the plugs internal extremity 58 and along the bore 54 and so escape. The return of the plug 50 to its sleeve 5|, 53, is exerted by springs 59 of which there are two or four, fitted at one end to valve head 69 and, at the other, to a surface of the valves casing at its widest exterior 6|. Swimming instructors control 30 is also shown in Figure 10 attached to ring 5% in the top of the plug 50.

The long tubular attachment 2| is the means by which an instructor determines and maintains the exact transitional needs of a learner to displace artificial support by his swimming movements, and it is accomplished by observing a learners responses to increasing demands on his energy and skill to provide his own bodily suspension during deflation of the swimming appliance. To define ability partly to dispense with artificial support before its final dispensation is diflicult, but during most transitional stages of swimming practice it is determinable when a learner has secured his swimming balance in the water and is making swimming strokes; and, therefore, all acts of attempted swimming in each lesson should begin with an amount of artificial support which will provide a swimming balance. Thereafter, and following each demonstration of ability to displace artificial support by a learner, a more precise adjustment of buoyancy by instructor in a measured rate of air escapement from short attachment 26 should supplement slow deflation by contrivance 2|. A learner is then aided to greater achievement by an instructors intelligent anticipation of his capabilities and its parallel in further and almost imperceptible lowerings of buoyancy at precise moments of requirement; but it is essential that an instructor should, throughout each process of deflation, take the same pre-conceived directional course as the learner. It is essential too that the strokes are always in view, and that immediate corrections of disunity in relative distances or rates of movement of learner and instructor are made with the guide rope or wire 3Bfor there is otherwise adequate provision in the complete mobility of the swimming appliance with its facilities for deflating and inflating to achieve a continuity of swimming strokes by gradual and regulated air escapement.

And preferred embodiments of the invention which are specifically described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings do not so limit the application of the invention which may be otherwise embodied within the meaning or scope of the following claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is as follows:

1. An inflatable support for aiding learners of swimming comprising a plurality of separate compartments, separate means for inflating each compartment, separate air escapement means for each compartment, closure means separably attached at outer ends to each escapement means, flexible diaphragm elements formed to provide minute apertures therethru secured over the inner ends of each of said air escapement means whereby, upon the opening of an air escapement means by the swimmer air may escape thru a diaphragm and an air escapement means and thereby, during the performance of swimming strokes, slowly reduce the buoyancy of the support.

2. An inflatable support for instructing swimmers comprising an inflatable unit, an air escapement means with movable closure means therefor in said unit, a diaphragm element formed to provide minute apertures therethru separably secured within said unit for regulating the rate of air outflow from said unit through said air escapement means after moving said closure means, a flexible tube secured to said unit with buoyancy control means in the remote end, and a guide rope secured to said unit to aid an instructor in controlling movement of swimmer.

3. An inflatable support for aiding learners of swimming comprising a plurality of separable units, one of said units formed to provide a plurality of separate compartments, separate means for inflating each unit and compartment, a plurality of air escape tube means projecting from each unit and compartment and closure caps separably attached to said tube means, additional flexible connectors securing said caps to said support, flexible diaphragm elements formed to provide minute apertures therethru secured within each unit and compartment over the inner ends of each of said tube means whereby, upon removal of caps by the swimmer air may escape thru the diaphragms and. tubes and thereby slowly reduce the buoyancy of the support.

4. A device as claimed in claim 3 in which said unit consists of a single ring shaped body formed to provide a central and two adjacent oppositely disposed ring shaped compartments, the maximum diameter of said central compartment being greater than that of either of said other compartments, a plurality of air escape tube means in said central compartment-and a lesser number of escape tube means in each of said other compartments.

5. An inflatable support for instructing swimmers comprising an inflatable unit, an air escape tube means projecting from said unit, a flexible diaphragm element formed to provide minute apertures therethru separably secured within said unit at inner end of said air escape tube, a closure cap movably disposed on the outer end of said tube means, flexible means secured to said closure cap extending to a remote point, a flexible tube secured to said unit extending to a remote point, a buoyancy control means in the remote end of said flexible tube, whereby an instructor may control the buoyancy of said unit and a guide rope secured to said support and extending to a remote point to aid the instructor in controlling the movement of the swimmer.

WILLIAM BARCROFT. 

